NBA Finals 2017 Klay Thompson Game 3 transcript: 'We got an unselfish team who just wants to win'

Updated June 8, 2017 at 1:04 AM;Posted June 8, 2017 at 12:32 AM

Cleveland Cavaliers vs Golden State Warriors, Game 3 of NBA Finals, June 7, 2017
Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson takes a jump shot guarded by Cleveland Cavaliers guard JR Smith in the first half during Game 3 of the NBA Finals, June 7, 2017, at Quicken Loans Arena.

Cleveland Cavaliers vs Golden State Warriors, Game 3 of NBA Finals, June 7, 2017
Golden State Warriors guard Klay Thompson takes a jump shot guarded by Cleveland Cavaliers guard JR Smith in the first half during Game 3 of the NBA Finals, June 7, 2017, at Quicken Loans Arena.(John Kuntz, cleveland.com)

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Warriors guard Klay Thompson had a session with the media Wednesday evening after his team won in Game 3 of NBA Finals 2017 by 118-113.

Following is a transcript of that Q and A, as provided by the NBA and ASAP Sports:

Q: That last possession you were guarding Kyrie on the perimeter, he obviously had been going off the entire second half. What ... were you planning to do? What were you trying to do defensively on that possession?

KLAY THOMPSON: Trying to make him get off the three-point line and make him finish over the top of me either at the rim or mid-range. I think I play with great length, and Kyrie's been hot all night, and I think that I just did a good job of not falling for any of his moves, because he's real shifty, and just stayed in front of him, and luckily he missed the shot.

Q: You came out really aggressively in the first quarter. Was it a point of emphasis to try to get yourself going offensively in the early going to try to meet the force that Steve Kerr was talking about the Cavs coming with?

KLAY THOMPSON: I think it wasn't just myself, it was everybody. Just played with great aggressiveness, played with great pace, poise. We didn't play with that good of poise the whole game. We had 18 turnovers. Probably made a lot closer than we needed to. So we have to make the adjustment Friday and maybe make that nine, 10 turnovers instead and put ourselves in a better position. But it was a point of emphasis just for us to just get up-and-down, make them play at our pace and get this thing going in transition.

Q: The final three minutes you're down 113-107, down six points. What changed? Was there something that was said in the huddle? What happened to allow you guys to go on a 11-0 run to win the game?

KLAY THOMPSON: Not turning the ball over, and we obviously have two of the best shot makers in the world in Steph and K.D., and those guys did a great job willing us back into it and our defense. I think our defense was really sound. We didn't let them get really open looks from three that they were the whole game and tried to make them beat us one-on-one, which they were, but over 48 minutes I think we can live with someone beating us one-on-one.

Q: Did Kevin say something in the huddle? He just had that determined look tonight, especially down the stretch. Did he speak up or say get me the ball, or did he just take over?

KLAY THOMPSON: No, we know in that situation to get that man the rock. He's seven foot, can shoot over almost anybody and has amazing shooting touch, and he made a dagger three -- well, not a dagger, but a huge three there. And we're confident in him taking that shot every time.

Q: Coach Kerr was saying that he just kept telling you guys they're going to get tired. They're going to get tired. When did you feel especially Kyrie and LeBron start to get tired?

KLAY THOMPSON: Probably not until the last few minutes. Those guys had to do so much for them and they were doing it tonight, and they got better contributions from their bench, but I think we have an advantage in our depth, they don't have as much depth as we do. But those guys can win you a game, and you almost saw it tonight in LeBron and Kyrie. So if we have the same result Friday, those guys both have a great game, but we got to limit their other guys to not having big games. And didn't seem like they got tired, but they might not show it, but it's hard to do that for 48 minutes.

Q: When you've only now got a one-day turnaround between games instead of the three or four days, how do you expect that to impact, again, like the exhaustion level, the way the guys play?

KLAY THOMPSON: I think we'll all be fine. This is the most minutes I think we played all year between me, Steph, and Kevin. And Coach Kerr's done a great job managing our minutes. And we know what's at stake, and that's an NBA title.

So we won't be tired because we got adrenaline on our side and we got to act like this is a do-or-die situation. We don't want to go back to the Bay and win it; we want to finish it here and forget this game quickly and lock in tomorrow morning and get ready for a battle on Friday.

Q: Just wondering, got a couple of open floor dunks, got a lot of those threes to fall --

KLAY THOMPSON: Haven't seen that in a while.

Q: Just like that. Was this the most comfortable you felt offensively here in The Finals?

KLAY THOMPSON: You could say that because I was getting great looks. I was being patient. And whenever you make your first couple, you feel good. And to me, I got a couple looks early at the basket, got a couple open threes, and that always helps. I'm going to carry this momentum into Friday.

Q: Were you getting encouragement from your teammates, especially for how much effort you've been putting out on the defensive end, to come out and make those buckets?

KLAY THOMPSON: Yeah, absolutely. We got an unselfish team who just wants to win. They don't care who gets the stats or the accolades. And tonight when they know I'm hot, it gets them excited and got to come out with the same competitiveness and drive on Friday, and I'll be good.

Q: Things got pretty testy in the second quarter. Can you talk a little bit about both Steph and Draymond kind of got into it with people. Were you concerned at all that the team would lose its composure, or any memories of last year's Finals?

KLAY THOMPSON: No, we have learned from last year, and Draymond's gotten better from it. Steph's really competitive. It's the Finals. Both teams want to win so badly. We know what's at stake. So emotions might get the best of you at times, and it's not the worst thing in the world. It gets your team fired up and it locks you back in to be competitive and not give your opponent an inch.

So we're not going to lose our heads. We know what's at stake, and we're going to come out Friday and play with some great poise.